sturgeongeneral

I've been working as a front-end developer professionally for the last 4 years doing mostly HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and I'm looking to make a change. I feel like I'm not growing intellectually; I'd rather be doing back-end or mobile development. The solution may be as simple as switching jobs, but I think there's an elephant in the room: I think I lack a grasp of the fundamental principles that would make me not only a good coder, but a good thinker. I've worked really hard at learning some of these myself, but I think I've hit a wall. In my spare time I do Python and have begun dipping my toes in Clojure, and I find I really enjoy both, but I think the ability to build and reason about large and scalable applications seems out of reach at the moment.

I have a BA in Econ but I'm thinking of going back to school for CS. Returning to my alma mater would cost me no more than $30k in total and would take no more than 2 years. Is it worth it, or should I continue working and invest my time in self-education? I feel like credentials can be overrated, but I see a real value in pursuing a CS education.